Ride Your Bike to Work Day, every day

Legislation designed to encourage San Franciscans to bike to work was given preliminary approval by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Authored by Supervisor John Avalos, the ordinance requires owners of existing commercial buildings to either provide bike parking or allow tenants to bring bikes inside. It would be up to the tenants to decide whether to let their employees to store their bikes at work. Nothing would compel employers to allow bikes on their premises.

It will soon be easier to ride your bike to work.

San Francisco already requires new commercial development and residential properties with four or more units to provide on-site bicycle storage.

“This would allow bikes to not have to be locked up on streets or sidewalks, where they can clog driveways, and also could get stolen,” Avalos said. “We’re removing a barrier to people using bicycles to get around the city.”

Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu cast the dissenting votes. Chu said she was concerned the ordinance would create too much work for city agencies like the Department of Building Inspection and the Department of the Environment, which will be required to assess bicycle access in buildings in certain cases.